On the Fourth of July

Photo by Eric

"And the smell of the smoke and the lay of the land 

And the feeling of finding one's heart in one's hand

And the tiny tin voice of the radio band singing "Love must stand..." 

Love forever and ever must stand

On the Fourth of July." 

-James Taylor, "On the Fourth of July"

Happy Fourth of July! As I write this, I can hear hundreds (maybe thousands...) of fireworks soaring into the night sky. It's lovely to think of our freedom, of those who have and continue to sacrifice so much for us, including very dear friends and family members. A HUGE thank you to all of you! It's because of you that we can look forward to bringing a child home to this amazing country. 

We had an absolutely lovely weekend with two of my favorite people in the world, Ryan and Ashley. They drove in from Austin on Saturday and stayed until Tuesday morning, when the real world demanded we cut our party short. On Saturday night Jennifer joined us before leaving for Tremaine Dance Workshop at the Gaylord Texan, and so we took a short drive to Okarche to eat at Eischen's. We were able to muscle ourselves a table (which is a little stressful for me, I admit) and had fried chicken and okra. If you haven't been, you absolutely should; you won't be hungry for a week...or at least until the next day, like we were. We visited Tucker's Onion Burgers for supper on Sunday and then went to the Myriad Gardens for the Summer Jazz Concert series. Again, if you haven't gone, you should! The weather was awesome, and the band was really good, especially their cover of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Monday we swam and visited the Wedge, which was absolutely delicious; even Ryan said so, and he should know. Overall, it was a fabulous weekend, and I am so glad we were able to spend a few days together, relaxing and reminiscing.

Right now we are preparing for our home study and continuing to compile mounds of paperwork. Our home study is July 27, and even though everyone I've talked to who has gone through it before says, "Hey, don't worry about your home study. Just make sure you (fill in the blank)...," I'm still a little panicked. Okay, A LOT panicked. I've cleaned out almost every drawer, closet, and cabinet, and I'm amazed that a) I've found lots of little things I forgot I was looking for; b) we've collected so much stuff that we might be on the next episode of "Hoarders"; and c) I've managed to "hide" Eric's passport, my birth certificate, and the deed to our home in the most illogically logical place. I'm sure I will find it eventually; I'm sure it's all tucked away safely, right beside my brain.

If you're looking for something to do on Friday night, specifically between 7:00 and 9:00, Eric has a photography show at T, An Urban Teahouse, located at 7518 North May Avenue in Oklahoma City. He has taken some really beautiful photos, and he's working hard right now getting boards cut and photos mounted. I even chipped in for a little bit, until I couldn't handle the feeling of sandpaper a second longer. I am really excited about the work he has chosen to share. The folks at T have been gracious enough to allow him to show, and all proceeds from the show will go toward our adoption. With our home study on the horizon and our dossier near completion (okay, okay, "near" is a relative term, right?), we are getting closer and closer to bringing our little guy home. We don't know him yet, and while we do have a name picked out, for the the time being we are calling him "Baby T," which is apropos, don't you think?   

Photo from http://www.urban-teahouse.com/T_Urban_Teahouse/Home.html